Three Things You Can Do To Prevent The Need For Orthodontic Care

Dentist Blog

Preventing the need for orthodontic care for your child will do much more than simply save you money down the road. It will also save your child from having to go through the unpleasant ordeals involved with orthodontic care, including discomfort and having to wear braces for several years.

While there's nothing you can do to guarantee that your child will never need to see an orthodontist, the following three practices can potentially prevent or alleviate orthodontic problems:

Have baby teeth extracted when it's recommended

If baby teeth are slow to come out naturally, they can obstruct the permanent teeth that must come in as a child grows. Some dentists recommend that primary teeth need to be out by the time a child's permanent second molars are coming in. It's important not to underestimate how important baby teeth are for forming the permanent teeth that a growing child will eventually have. 

Many dentists and parents assume that baby teeth are only temporary and will be inconsequential in the long run. However, their structure and any abnormalities they exhibit could in fact create orthodontic problems if they are not aggressively addressed beforehand through preventive dentistry. 

Prevent traumatic sports injuries

If your child participates in a contact sport like football or hockey, wearing a mouthguard is of vital importance. Many sports-related injuries result in dental damages. These injuries could result in teeth that are knocked out of the mouth or displaced out of alignment. 

For the best possible alleviation of potential sports injuries, you can consider having a mouthguard custom-designed by a dentist. A precise, custom mouthguard offers greater effectiveness at protecting the teeth than the mouthguards that are mass produced and sold at sporting goods stores. 

Correct any thumb-sucking habits early on

Many parents may already be aware of the connection between thumb sucking and the development of orthodontic problems.

Thumb sucking has been proven to affect the structure of the upper front teeth and lower front teeth. The habit could eventually aggravate orthodontic conditions where the upper front teeth protrude forward or where the lower front teeth are tipping backwards. In addition, thumb sucking could potentially cause bite issues such as an open bite and a crossbite. 

While it's a good idea to make efforts to stop thumb sucking at a certain point, thumb sucking is generally not a problem if a child grows out of it early. However, the habit could result in orthodontic issues if it persists past this age when the child's permanent teeth begin to erupt. 

For more information, contact Neu Family Dental Center or a similar location.

6 October 2015